Budget deliberations continue in earnest this week in Alaska, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and RhodeIsland. In SouthDakota and Utah, the focus is on gearing up for ballot initiative efforts to raise needed revenue, though be sure to read about legislators nullifying voter-approved initiatives in Maine and elsewhere in our “what we’re reading” section.

— Meg Wiehe, ITEP Deputy Director, @megwiehe

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker is planning to unveil an updated tax proposal for consideration, though the details of what will be contained in that proposal are still unknown. Walker has stated that it is “imperative that revenue issues be addressed this year.”

Connecticut lawmakers approved a labor agreement with pension concessions that have been described as a step toward improving the state’s fiscal standing. However, the state still lacks a budget agreement and is gearing up for funding cuts.

Rhode Island‘s budget impasse could soon be nearing an end. Senate leaders have agreed to return to the statehouse tomorrow to approve a budget bill that contains a compromise regarding the degree to which the state’s car tax will be cut.

Supporters of an initiative to raise new revenue for school funding in Utah have cut back their proposal to raise the state’s personal income and sales tax rates. The proposed increases will now total 0.45 percentage points, rather than 0.5-point increases.

Alabama‘s Times Dailyexplains how the state was forced to abandon a proven inmate training program and millions of dollars invested in Medicaid reforms, proving that the argument that slashing funding would improve government efficiency is “demonstrably incorrect.”

NorthDakota‘s Grand Forks Herald is calling for updating the federal gas tax for the first time since 1993 to better fund infrastructure inside the state and around the nation. Now is the time, they say, because falling oil prices have hurt state revenue collections but also resulted in cheaper gas, making a gas tax increase easier for drivers to handle.

Kansas is preparing for the early departure of Gov. Sam Brownback who has been tapped to be an ambassador in the Trump Administration. While key portions of his tax cuts have been dismantled, the governor appears to be leaving with his convictions regarding the cuts still intact. In the first month since the new tax laws, which undid some of his tax cuts, took effect, revenues are higher than expected.

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